Fight For the Future
by The Fault In Our Kung Fu
Summary: Persuaded by Elysia to speak to her class on Career Day, Riza Hawkeye educates the children of civilians the importance of duty and loyalty. Maybe then, people wouldn't look down on soldiers so harshly. Old fic from 2010, relaunched and revised.


**Fight For the Future**

For the first time in her entire military career, First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye willingly accepted a day off. A whole day without hours of diligent working, and a whole day to do whatever she pleased.

But she chose to do so for a perfectly good reason.

Elysia's school had Career Day today. Parents of students would come in and talk about their profession. Little Elysia, who lacked a parent with a full time job, chose "Auntie Riza" to come to school.

"I really wanted Daddy to visit," Elysia had said with excitement. "But Auntie Riza will do just fine. I bet my friends never saw a lady soldier before!"

So Riza had agreed to the girl's wishes, and would promptly arrive during midmorning.

She exited Central headquarters and reached the school a couple of blocks down. She stopped at the hallway where Elysia's classroom was located. Riza had to wait behind a line of adults still waiting to discuss with the class. She spotted a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, a flower arranger. Elysia peeked at Riza from her desk, and waved her chubby arm with wild, cheerful enthusiasm. Riza cracked a tiny smile and quietly waved back.

Then a tremor of uneasiness ran through her body. The kids in the room looked barely six or seven. What could she possibly say about her job? Could she say anything while leaving the words "kill" or "die" out? Somehow, she doubted it.

She half listened to the increasing pounding of her heart, and half listened to the guest speakers in the room. They all spoke of helping others, fixing broken things, arranging products of nature into works of art. Riza felt like she didn't belong. She was a destroyer, a menace to all things beautiful. Soldiers like her were responsible for the destruction of lives. They planted seeds that sprouted into battle and chaos. She herself had sown plenty during the Ishbal war.

Riza felt sorely tempted to turn tail and head out the school doors.

"Would the next parent come in, please?"

That would be her. Riza froze. Paused for a few moments. Then slowly pivoted her feet, and entered the classroom. A spacious room with cheerful pictures, as well as curious eyes, greeted her.

The teacher smiled at Riza from her desk. "Ah, you must be the adult coming on Elysia's behalf. You may start talking when you're ready."

The kids stared at her with awed fascination. Their eyes riveted at her dress uniform, the gun holstered at her back. Riza fought to steady her breath. She's an officer who's endured countless situations of mortal peril. And here she was now, scared stiff to talk in front of a bunch of kids.

Then Elysia grinned at her encouragingly. She gave a tiny, pudgy thumbs-up.

It spurred Riza's motivation to begin. "Um...good morning. My name is First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. I work in the State Military of Amestris."

"Are you Elysia's mommy?" a student asked.

Riza smiled softly. "No, I'm not. I'm her…'auntie.' I worked with her dad in the army, and that's why I'm here today. So I can talk about what her dad and I do."

She felt oddly calm and serene as she spoke. She tried to imagine the kids as if they were brand new military cadets. 'That's it. No need to give out your entire personal history. Just the basics. That's all they need to know.'

"As soldiers, it's our job to protect people," she continued. "By protecting people, we protect the country too. Sometimes, we soldiers have to fight in order to keep this country safe."

"So by protecting us, you shoot at the bad guys?" a kid piped up.

"…If we have to," the lieutenant managed to say.

"Miss Riza, have you ever shot someone with a gun?"

She said nothing for a few seconds, then she replied quietly, "Yes, I have."

A student at the back row stared at her warily. "My mommy and daddy don't like soldiers. They said that all they want is power and money. They like to shoot people with alchemy and bombs all the time."

"My daddy isn't like that!" Elysia exclaimed as she whirled in her seat. "My daddy is nice and sweet and doesn't care about money. He always wants to protect me and my mommy!"

"Elysia's right. Not all soldiers are the same. Neither are students. There are good kids that behave, and there are bad kids that cause trouble. Is that correct?"

Many heads bobbed in agreement.

"Elysia's father and I...we didn't choose to join for the money, or the power. There are people in this country who are too old, too young, or too weak to stand up for themselves. That's where soldiers, the protectors and fighters, come in. Elysia's dad and I do our best to make sure they are kept safe from danger. Do you kids have someone you want to protect?"

"My mom and dad," a little boy next to Elysia said. "Because they love me a lot." Several others joined in.

"All of my aunts and uncles and cousins."

"My best friends."

"The entire school!"

"Our teacher."

"My little sister, even if she's annoying and begs me to play stupid games with her."

A cute girl with big glasses and pigtails rose her hand meekly. "Miss Riza, do you have any family that you protect?"

She shook her head. "I was the only child. My mom and dad left me a long time ago. I don't know any other relatives either."

"Do you have kids of your own?"

"No, I'm not married."

"Then who do you protect, if you have no one to watch over?"

Riza smiled softly as the images of all her friends sprang to her mind. "In a way, everyone in this country is my family. The Fuhrer's like my teacher, and the command center is my school. My fellow officers are like brothers and sisters to me. And every single one of you little ones are my children."

The kids slowly nodded in understanding as she said this. Their eyes seemed to widen and soften with affection at these surprisingly tender words of a lady officer.

The girl put up her hand again, this time a little more boldly. "Miss Riza, do you have an _extra special_ person you really care about?"

Riza immediately thought of a certain Colonel, whose life depended upon her protection. A fond, wistful smile softened her face. "Yes, I do. He's a very close friend of Elysia's dad."

"Uncle Roy!" Elysia blurted out happily.

"What's he like to you? Is he like your brother?" a boy asked.

"He's...many different things." Then Riza chuckled and shook her head. "Sometimes he acts like a misbehaving child who hardly finishes his 'homework.'"

The class giggled. Apparently, an adult acting like a naughty kid was something they found amusing. Riza felt strangely at ease when confessing this to little children. Most of the time, she was careful in discussing the Colonel's strengths and weaknesses.

"Sometimes he's like a brother who I can relate to," she continued. "Even though he can be troublesome, he really wants to change things for the better. He hopes to be the president one day."

"Is that why he became a soldier too?"

"Yes, but his reasons for it are very good. Colonel Mustang cares for other soldiers like me and Elysia's dad. He wants to do more by becoming Fuhrer, so he can protect everybody. As for me, I joined the army so I can make sure he follows that path. I also make sure he stays alive to achieve his goal."

Riza observed the classroom. The kids gave her their total undivided attention, their one hundred percent admiration. Even the child, whose parents disliked soldiers, looked at her with less accusation in his eyes.

"Whether any one of you becomes, a doctor, a lawyer, perhaps even a soldier, it doesn't matter. When you love what you do, and never lose sight of your beliefs...it's called passion. And the passion for my career is my desire to fight for the future."

Riza concluded her speech with a little salute.

The class immediately broke out in wild applauses and cheers. The children gazed at her with light in their eyes, as if she was their only idol. But Elysia's eyes glowed the brightest among them. Her little, soft face beamed with joy and pride for her role model, the shining example of a perfect, virtuous soldier. A warrior, who fought for herself like there was no tomorrow, but fought for others like there _will_ be tomorrow.


End file.
